Bring Us To Our Deaths
by Life That Is Not Yet Full
Summary: In which Bansha and Soul Archer are sent to find and kill the Chain Master. However, the Master of Wind has another use for their victim. Elemental Master War AU. Rated T cause I'm paranoid
1. Prologue

**Prologue:**

The Elemental Master War. Such a large war, that it involved more treachery, more deaths, and more Masters. Not more Elemental Masters, as they dominated the playing field more than a single group should, but Weapon Masters. Weapon Masters were such an ambiguous group, that they never went by their given name, instead choosing to be commanded by coded names. Such Masters were skilled in more areas than they could be credited for. They were mostly known for their stealth, the ability to slip into an enemy base camp without alerting a single guard, on duty or otherwise. Other abilities were numerous, but equally essential in the War. This made them of high demand between the two Elemental groups. Especially two in particular.

They worked alone well enough, but together they were stronger. The duo had the habit of completing secret missions much faster and better than any other group of Weapon Masters. The two in question were Bansha, the Blade Master, and Soul Archer, the Bow Master. Bansha, like her code name called for, was capable of emitting a high pitched shriek in various frequencies. She was also an adept sorceress, however, she used her magic mostly to defend, not attack. Like her title claimed, she was an expert in wielding all types of blades, especially her specially crafted double-ended one. Soul Archer possessed a bow and a quiver of arrows. His eyes were keener than most and allowed him to hit most of what he aimed at. It also allowed him to spot enemy forces long before anyone else saw them approach.

These two Weapon Masters, upon recruited into the War, were assigned to the Master of Wind's division. Their first mission: infiltrate the opposing side's campsite and find and kill their newest Weapon Master recruit.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One:**

"This is it?" Bansha asked her comrade, Soul Archer as they hid behind some bushes, gazing up at the Master of Earth's military headquarters.

Soul Archer shrugged. "You see any other imposing buildings made of obsidian around here?"

Bansha chose to ignore that remark, instead focusing on the task ahead of them: getting themselves inside.

"We have a couple options," the archer put in, as if in response to her thoughts.

"And what would they be?" Bansha asked.

"Well," Soul Archer ticked the choices off on his fingers, "we could sneak through the doors in disguises, climb over the walls, or find some kind of alternative entrance - maybe find a drainpipe or something?"

Bansha had nothing to say. They were all pretty good ideas, but they couldn't risk getting caught, so that ruled out the disguises option or wall-climb option. She voiced her concerns to her teammate, who nodded in agreement.

"Then we have to sneak in through another entrance," Soul Archer concluded.

Bansha didn't reply. Her gaze was fixed on a rather large drainpipe affixed to the left on an inside corner of the structure. The archer turned to follow her line of sight.

Find a way to get in? Check.

The pipe was unsurprisingly damp, but rather clean. It looked like it was just installed, perhaps as an insulator against Maya, the Master of Water's, attacks. Not that she couldn't find a way around that, Soul Archer mused, just as we are doing now.

The two Weapon Masters were crawling through the drainpipe, which, as Soul Archer had calculated, led straight to the center courtyard of the obsidian shelter. Why the Master of Earth had to create literally a castle in the middle of the War was beyond the archer's reasoning. It didn't matter, Soul Archer brushed the query aside. What mattered was that they finish the mission and be done with it. The sooner the better.

Enter one very large facility through the largest drainpipe possible? Check.

The courtyard in which the pipe led to was, the archer had to admit, pretty nice for a country at war. Trees bordered the open space, with a bubbling fountain placed in the center. Flowering bushes and stone benches were scattered throughout the place. It was a bit _too_ cheerful and leisurely during wartime. The target (how convenient) was seated on one of the benches, their weapon, a long chain with a blade at the end, in their lap. By the choice of weapon, and the fact that the target was a Weapon Master, Soul Archer guessed that the target in observation was the Chain Master. He nudged Bansha, and pointed out the figure sitting below them. She nodded in return and slipped away. The archer couldn't see where she was heading, but he assumed she would do a good job.

Locate the target and best way to kill him? Check.

Unfortunately, hiding in trees gives very little protection against the silence needed to sneak up on someone. When Bansha landed in the tree, the leaves rustled. It was only a small sound - Soul Archer barely heard it himself - but their target straightened, eyes narrowed, the chain in his lap sliding off, his hand gripping the handle tightly.

Alert the target to their presence? Check.

Bansha must have figured there was nothing to lose, because she revealed herself quickly, lunging towards the figure below her, blade aiming for his neck. The target moved aside just as quickly, brandishing the chain at her, causing it to wrap around her waist, and pulling her to the floor. Soul Archer leapt from where he was crouching in the opening of the drainpipe, shooting an arrow, aiming not to kill, just to detain. Anyway, he couldn't have killed with just one arrow, the archer mused while free-falling to the floor of the courtyard; the target was wearing a breastplate that, knowing the Master of Earth's style, would protect the user more than what would seem. The Bow Master landed on his feet, legs bent to absorb the shock, as his arrow struck the target's shoulder pad, throwing him off balance. The Blade Master and the Chain Master were tussling on the floor. They were evenly matched, weapons-wise, and while Bansha had many opportunities to kill her opponent, she detained from doing so. There was, in the archer and sorceress' opinion, a reason to this.

Before they had entered the Master of Earth's headquarters, the two Weapon Masters had discussed with their division leader, the Master of Wind, the possible outcomes of the assassination.

"Bring him to our side," their division leader told them, "and if he doesn't cooperate, _then_ kill him."

The two had agreed to the terms. After all, how hard might that be?

Very hard, in fact. Bansha and the Chain Master had been fighting for, to a bystander like Soul Archer, what seemed like a long time. There was no way they could try to recruit: the Chain Master was too skilled to overcome. That, and he wasn't giving up. When Bansha pulled away from the fight for a moment, Soul Archer took his chance.

"Stop!" he called.

Surprised, the Chain Master turned toward him, but the expression on his face was anything but happy. "What do you want?" he demanded. "Why are you following me? Who sent you?"

Bansha, who had been given enough time to recover, answered all three questions in one breath: "We are Weapon Masters, like you. We have been sent by our division leader, the Master of Wind to recruit you. If you don't join us, we'll kill you."

"Bansha!" Soul Archer hissed. "You weren't supposed to tell him that!"

"What?" Bansha turned toward him, her face arranged in what she supposed was an innocent face. "It's not like we aren't going to tell him anyway!"

"You weren't supposed to tell him then, you have to wait before the-"

"I'll join."

The two Weapon Masters turned, surprised that their targeted recruit was still there. The Chain Master was watching them, an amused smile on his face. "I'll join," he repeated. "I was going to switch sides anyway."

"Well the-" Bansha started.

"Great! Let's go, then," Soul Archer exclaimed hurriedly. He started toward the drainpipe, pausing only once. "What's your name by the way?"

"Wrayth," the Chain Master answered. "It's Wrayth. Unless you are asking for my real name, which I'm not going to give away."

"Of course you're not," Bansha reassured him. "But if you don't mind me asking personal questions, then-"

"Let's go!" called Soul Archer, waving at them from the opening of the drainpipe. "We're burning daylight!"

Bansha groaned softly, then called up to the archer. "Just let us do personal-question-asking first!"

"Fine, but if we get caught, I'm leaving."

They both knew that Soul Archer would never leave Bansha behind; maybe Wrayth, yes, but not Bansha. The sorceress took that to her advantage by finishing her question: "What I was trying to say was, how old are you?"

Wrayth studied her for a moment, then, satisfied, 'gave her a half-grin in response. "Sixteen."

Soul Archer froze, still in the drainpipe opening.

"Sixteen?" Bansha repeated disbelievingly. "How'd you get recruited if you are sixteen?"

"I can pass for older. Why? How old did _you_ think I was?"

"I assumed you were about our age. If not, a year younger. The Elemental Masters may not agree on many things, but they agree on age requirements."

"If you assumed I was older, why did you ask for my age?" Wrayth countered.

Bansha had no answer to that, so she let it go. For now. "Fine, you win that round," she sighed. "My second question-"

"Is it your last one?" Soul Archer called down from the drainpipe.

"Yes!" the sorceress groaned. She directed her question to Wrayth. "Any special abilities you'd like to share with us so we are not caught off guard when we get into a tight spot?"

This question, Wrayth was hesitant to answer. Age, to a Weapon Master, was not a big deal to share, but the art of surprises was.

"Sorry," he replied. "Can't tell you."

Bansha shrugged. She expected as much.

"Can we go now?" Soul Archer asked.

"Fine." Bansha clambered up the pipes leading to the drain's mouth. She looked over at Wrayth. "Come on."

Wrayth followed her easily, scaling the wall and dropping down next to the older Weapon Masters. "Lead the way," he said.

Soul Archer went first, sliding feet first down the pipe, Bansha and Wrayth close behind him. The three landed in grass, nearly toppling over each other, but managed to stay upright, but within close distance of each other. Almost immediately, they heard a voice rise up from the courtyard.

"Where'd the Chain Master go?" the voice bellowed.

"Damn," Wrayth muttered.

"What do we do?" Bansha hissed to Soul Archer.

"How am I supposed to know?" the archer replied. He turned toward Wrayth. "You never told us you would be missed."

Wrayth glared at him, replying in silence.

Soul Archer threw his hands up in exasperation. "We have people who know we were here, and that we took Wrayth with us. We'll probably have other Weapon Masters on our trail, and believe me, they will find us."

"Oh, do you know from experience?" Wrayth asked sarcastically. "Or are you just stating a fact _that everyone knows_?"

"Shush, you two!" Bansha exclaimed. The others turned to find her standing behind a bush. "I think the smart thing to do is to hide!"

"At least someone's talking sense," Wrayth muttered.

The Chain Master and Bow Master ducked behind foliage of their own. Now, all they had to do was wait until the search was given up, which all three knew that it would not happen.


	3. Chapter 2

Soul Archer waited for what he felt was a long time. He was on the verge of falling asleep and would have done so if a shout didn't go up.

"I found him!"

A Scythe Master was pulling Wrayth from his hiding spot. Wrayth struggled, but the Scythe Master had a grip of iron.

The Scythe Master laughed. "You think switching to the opposite side would improve your chances of survival? Those 'friends' who took you, where are they?"

When Wrayth didn't answer, the Scythe Master shook him hard. "I asked you a question. Where are they?"

Wrayth ignored him. This seemed to infuriate his captor more. He crouched down to the Chain Master's level and repeated, "Where. Are. They."

Wrayth spat in his face. The Scythe Master reeled back, and once he recovered, he slapped him. Beside Soul Archer, Bansha started to rise, but the Archer put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head at her.

"Idiot child," the Scythe Master growled. "You may be able to win the Earth Master over, but both of us know that you are too young for this. If Earth Master found out who you really were, he would kill you on the spot. You and your friends."

"Let him try," Wrayth replied.

"Don't be so cocky," the Scythe Master warned. "The Master of Earth has his ways. If he knows you are who you are, he will kill you."

Wrayth shrugged, but the archer and sorceress could see the fear in his eyes.

"Now," Wrayth's captor continued, "I'll take you to the Earth Master, but we'll see if I spill your secret or not. Come."

He tugged Wrayth backwards toward the obsidian base. Wrayth struggled wildly, his eyes wide with horror. After a few steps, the Scythe Master stopped and turned back to Wrayth.

"If you don't behave," he said, "I'll tell Earth Master and we'll see how long you have to live after that."

Bansha broke free of Soul Archer's grip and stood. "No way!" she cried.

Soul Archer groaned at her impulsiveness, and stood as well, sending an arrow at the Scythe Master. It hit him in a chink in his armor, causing him to yell in pain. His cry alerted the Weapon Masters gathered in the area, and they moved quickly to intercept the disruption. In the space of five seconds, thirty Weapon Masters were in the clearing, surrounding the small group of renegades.

A Sai Master that was standing nearest to the trio laughed. "You are outmatched. You may as well give up now. Imagine what Earth Master will say when he sees you! Two of the most legendary Weapon Masters and the youngest Master to enter the war!"

Bansha glared. "We give up when we say we give up. And I don't think we should give up, you should!"

The sorceress' last words were delivered in a sonar shriek, blasting away the Weapon Masters standing nearest to her, causing the others to flinch and cover their ears.

"Get ready to fight," Soul Archer murmured to Wrayth, who seemed paralyzed by the Blade Master's sudden revealed talent.

The Weapon Masters closed in, but the trio were ready for them. Soul Archer used his arrows as close range daggers and his bow to drive back Weapon Masters three at a time. Bansha slashed through her opponents with her double-ended blade, occasionally using the bright purple of her sorcery to block attacks. Wrayth, surprisingly, had a few tricks up his sleeve as well. He was an Airjitzu user, Soul Archer realized, as he used his skill to evade enemies and then come in for the killing blow.

Within a few seconds, the Weapon Masters were scattered across the ground and the renegades escaped into the woods surrounding the Master of Earth's headquarters. As soon as the trio were sure they were out of earshot, did they slow down. Wrayth turned toward his new friends.

"Thanks," he said. "I didn't deserve that."

Bansha smiled. "You did. Everyone deserves to have friends. Especially friends who watch their backs."

Soul Archer, however, had another question. "When did you learn Airjitzu? I thought that the Masters of Earth and Gravity killed them all. They said that it was too powerful of a skill for anyone to have."

"My mother was a master at Airjitzu, taught by Sensei Yang himself, and she wrote down the steps and hid them before she was killed. She told me where to find it, and I learned from the instructions she left."

The archer nodded, satisfied with the answer Wrayth gave. "I'm sorry you lost your mother," he replied. "What are you going to do with the instructions?"

Wrayth thought for a moment. "I think I'll give it to the Airjitzu Temple after all this is over. I'll need to fix it up a bit, since it was destroyed in the Master of Earth's attack. And I'll need to find the monks that lived there. They went into hiding as well, but I haven't had a chance to find them."

"I think that's a good idea," Bansha replied.

However, she had some doubting thoughts. Wrayth, because of his young age, might not survive the war. That, and he was the last Airjitzu user who was on the opposite side of the Masters who wanted to kill Airjitzu people. No wonder the Wind Master had her and Soul Archer try to recruit him. He would have been killed if the Master of Earth found out. And he might still be killed.

Soul Archer apparently was thinking the same thing, because he said, "You know you may not get out of this alive, right?"

"I-" Wrayth started, then seemed to think better of it. "I do know that," he finished.

"So, would it be better to have a backup plan or something?" Bansha put in. "Because in case you don't survive..."

Wrayth shrugged. "I don't have one yet."

Bansha, discouraged by her friend's lack of answers, dropped the subject. They could talk about this later, she reasoned.

Back in camp, the Master of Wind was delighted to discover that Soul Archer and Bansha had managed to recruit Wrayth. Delighted was an understatement. He pumped the Chain Master's arm so hard, Bansha feared that it might come off. Thankfully, the Wind Master stopped his enthusiastic welcome handshake after a few moments, but Wrayth seemed to favor his right arm greatly afterwards.

"I understand you are an Airjitzu user," the Master of Wind noted after he had calmed down considerably.

"Y-yes, sir," Wrayth answered.

"And you are the last living one, am I right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well then, I suppose my reasons for recruiting you are clear, yes?"

Wrayth frowned. "No, sir. I'm afraid I don't know."

The Master of Wind smiled gently. "I sent the Bow and Blade Masters to find you once I realized your talent. That, and you are extraordinarily young - younger than any Weapon Master or Elemental Master ever. I truly and sincerely believe that you can do good in the world. Someone just has to spark it in you, you know?"

Wrayth still looked confused, so the Wind Master hurried to explain.

"I knew your mother very well. So well in fact, that when Mamoru and Dignis, the Masters of Earth and Gravity started their mad hunt for Airjitzu users, your mother went to me for help. She told me the location of the Scroll of Airjitzu and in exchange, made me promise to look after you. I did not use her information to find the scroll; neither did I supervise you directly. I sent Akira, the Master Light to look after you from afar. That is how I knew that you learned Airjitzu, and you were a Chain Master. However, recent changes have prevented me from being able to recruit you, such as the whole Elemental Master fiasco. I hope you can forgive me for this," he added.

Wrayth finally nodded. "I forgive you, sir."

The Master of Wind inclined his head in thanks. "Thank you, Wrayth."

He turned to leave the room, but added, "By the way, don't call me 'sir', it makes me seem uptight and stuffy. It'd be fine to call me by my first name, Miku. Everyone in my employment does."

Wrayth nodded once more in understanding. The door slammed shut behind the Elemental Master as he left. Bansha placed her hand reassuringly on his shoulder.

"Don't worry," she said. "We'll get you used to this place before the week is out. Assuming you survive, of course."

She said the words teasingly, but Soul Archer knew she was genuinely concerned for the kid. Knowing that someone this young could stay in the war, and be considered a candidate for being killed was a disturbing thought.

"Have you met Emiko yet?" Soul Archer said suddenly.

"No," Wrayth replied slowly. "Who's she?"

"Who are you guys talking about?" a voice interrupted. A young man dressed in similar clothing to both Bansha and Soul Archer appeared in the doorway. "Also, when's lunch?"

"Ghoultar, I told you to knock on the door before you enter!" Bansha exclaimed.

"The door was unlocked," Ghoultar grunted. "Plus, I wanted to see what you were doing. And, you aren't the boss of me."

"I know," Bansha replied, then turned toward her friends. "Yeah, this is my younger brother. You can send me sympathy notes later."

Ghoultar winced. "Rude, much?"

"Bansha's known for that, which is what I heard," Wrayth said.

Ghoultar turned to him, evidently surprised by another person being there without his noticing. "Who're you?" he asked.

"I'm Wrayth," the Chain Master answered, reaching out to shake hands.

Ghoultar took it and shook it. Wrayth winced at older teen's strength.

Bansha took that moment to introduce them. "Wrayth, this is Ghoultar, my younger brother. For an 18 year old, he's pretty strong, so that makes him capable for wielding a scythe. He, for some strange reason, is always hungry, so never let your food near him. It will disappear the moment you turn your back on it. Ghoultar, this is Wrayth. He's a Chain Master, probably one of the only ones out there, and he uses Airjitzu."

Ghoultar nodded slowly, scrutinizing Wrayth for a moment, and then asked, "How old is he?"

Bansha hesitated, not wanting to share information that wasn't hers to share.

Wrayth spoke up. "I'm 16."

"Holy s***!" Ghoultar started. "How'd you get into the war?"

Wrayth shrugged, not wanting to get into that just yet. "I was lucky."

Ghoultar still looked incredulous but Wrayth was done talking.

"Who's Emiko?" he asked.

"Oh," Bansha brightened as she glanced at the sun shining in through a hole in the wall. "She must be off-duty by now. Perfect!"

She led Wrayth outside to a young woman standing perfectly balanced on a wooden pole. She had jet black hair tied into a long braid that fell halfway down her back and glasses formed in perfect circles. She seemed to be in some tranquil state that only she would be able to accomplish. Calmness radiated off her in waves. She turned towards them as she heard footsteps approach and she broke into a smile when she recognized Bansha.

"Bansha!" she called. "Hello, my dear friends!"

"Hey Emiko," Bansha smiled. "I've brought someone for you to meet."

Emiko hopped off the pole, her smile widening. "Ah, the Chain Master correct?" she asked Wrayth.

When he nodded, she laughed and shook his hand. "Excellent, excellent. I'm Emiko, a Staff Master."

"Nice to meet you, Emiko," Wrayth said. He already liked her and he'd only met her for a few minutes. Her cheerfulness and calmness calmed him down slightly.

"I heard from the others," she lowered her voice, "that you are underage?"

Wrayth rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, yeah. It's kinda complicated."

"Oh, no. I'm not judging you!" Emiko reassured him. "I do believe that you will be a great addition to the team, regardless of age. I myself am older than most of the recruits. So old that I already have a husband and child!"

"Really?" Wrayth asked. "You have a child?"

Emiko nodded, her eyes sparkling. "I named her Misako."

"That's a lovely name," Bansha put in. "And it seems like we have to go soon. Mealtime is in five minutes and we still need to show Wrayth the rest of the camp afterwards."

"Sounds nice," Emiko said vaguely. She blinked and her eyes unfocused and refocused. She looked slightly confused as she looked at Wrayth, "I'm sorry dear, who were you again?"

"I-" Wrayth honestly had no idea how to approach this. Hadn't he already been introduced to her?

"And, we're off!" Bansha gave a large smile, which seemed fake, and quickly pulled Wrayth away, Soul Archer following close behind.

"Wait," Wrayth shook her off. "What was that?"

"Emiko has a memory problem," Soul Archer informed him. "She was on this mission once, went missing for a few weeks, came back, and her memory has been spotty ever since. She won't tell us what happened or why she is like this. She can forget things as soon as they show up. She'll be back to normal in a few hours, though, so she will remember you still."

Wrayth frowned. This whole "mission" thing didn't seem that ideal, but he signed up for this, so he had to take it.

An awkward silence fell over the group, which was interrupted by a loud bang. Wrayth jumped in surprise, but both Bansha and Soul Archer seemed unperturbed.

"It's the mealtime signal," Bansha explained. "Let's go."


End file.
